AAAAAAAND, were back

[Touch of Ruin]

UNKNOWN MILITARY BASE

Seras watched through her scope as Amelia made short work of the poor guards. Smiling to herself, she quickly ran down to the gate and passed by the bodies,  quickly snatching up an assault rifle and some magazines as she went, as she had seen that Amelia had not done it for her. (God damnit Ari). Catching up to Amelia, she stopped her and smiled.

“I’ll go through the right side of the complex and you go left. Remember, we are here for the security codes in the control room. In and out quickly.  If you don’t have to fight, then don’t. Understand?”

Without waiting for an answer she turned and ran down the hall, already knowing that there would be many dead bodies being left behind that sweet looking girl.



BEACON FOR POOR PEOPLE
Mr. Free smiled as he pirouetted away from the shockwave and shouted,

“Close but no cigar my friend.” 

Staying away from them he quickly analyzed the group. Zeelan was the immediate threat as he had lit himself on fire. However Veryon, was potentially the most dangerous over all due to his ability to manipulate gravity. Getting caught in those fields would mean the end of the fight. Then there was Qilong. He was just kind of standing there insubstantial. Taking all of this in, Free decided that, Zeelan, the pyromaniac that he was, should be the first to go. So he charged forward and swung his hammer in a flurry of attacks, the first about to connect with his head.

OOC: Will where the hell are you.

[Contemplator]

*Explosion sound*

I jumped, everyone had been having what seemed to be a large staring contest and were just standing around, so I'd opened my bag and begun making some apple cider, seeing as I had the time. I had zoned out admiring the containers I was using however, they were such beautiful works of art crafted using some glass-work skill and my ability's they were formed to fit my hand perfectly, I really was quite proud of them, call me obsessed, but they one of the few things I could truly claim as my own. Then the world exploded. It was a sudden explosion of fire, if I hadn't been insubstantial it would have knocked me down... again.

Apparently Zeelan had set himself on fire, well that was cool, I'd do it too if I wasn't sure it would only hurt me (past experience, I really wanted magic powers... took weeks for the burns to go away), he'd tried to knock down Mr.Free from the looks of it, that would have worked with most others but Mr.Free was special, the way moved when he fought, well... I wasn't sure sometimes if his feet touching the ground was even necessary for him to move.

Veryon was still standing still, staring, from the looks of it but he at least seemed to be doing a kind of focused staring, which was an improvement, I guess.

Mr.Free was wasting no time in attacking Zeelan, so throwing aside my weapon I started to drift closer to Mr.Free, ready to make a move, as I did I could almost feel the temperature rising up, at the same time I also created a quick barrier between him and Zeelan, giving my new "team mate"a chance to breathe.

[Youmu Konpaku]

--POV: Zeelan--

I growl in frustration as Mr. Free dodges the shockwave I had created. That would have caught most people. Then again, Mr. Free can hardly be classified as "most people". It was still worth a shot.

Soon after his taunt, he charges forward with blistering speed, and I am soon greeted with the rather unpleasant sight of a warhammer about to bash my face in. And that is certainly not in my best interests. 

I am about to counter his attack, but right then, a barrier blocks the hammer strike. I assume this is Qilong's doing. Good to know that he knows what he's doing. Maybe this team won't be so bad after all. I'm hoping Veryon plans to do something soon, so we can finish this.

Taking advantage of the opening created by Qilong, I quickly blast him backwards with a thermal, and begin to charge up another spell. I gesture for Qilong to go and make his move. The time to strike is now.

--POV: Amelia--

Without another word, Seras ran down her side of the hall. Sadly, it looked like we wouldn't be here long. Aww. I wanted a challenge. These guards are too easy to kill... whatever they're being paid, it's too much. I start to run down my side of the hall now, as I can't keep Seras waiting.

Hopefully, there'll be some backs to stab in this hallway to make up for the horrendous defense of this place. It's both laughable and disappointing. In anticipation, I begin to start twirling my knives in my hands as I begin humming one of my favorite songs.

[Oneal812]

That went less well then expected. Zeelan managed to dodge the attack that was thrown at him and hit Mr. Free, even if it did only knock him back a bit. The good news is my strategy of standing around being more useless then a paperweight has worked! Mr. Free seems top have completely forgot I was here. Judging by the "I'm gonna kill you" face Zeelan gave me, now is the time to do things. My powers being fully recharged, I create a field around Mr. Free with as must force as I can without collapsing organs and whatnot. This can pin most people to the ground as long as I keep the field up. Then again, Mr. Free isn't most people. Even if I can't hold him on the ground, It will still stagger him enough for the rest of my team to do some damage. After creating the field and catching him off guard I very subtly yell loudly at Zeelan and Qilong to do things. Please for the love of god let them do things. I am fairly certain I will die if they let Mr. Free turn around.



I liked being useless a lot more then this.

[Touch of Ruin]

BLOOD BATH TAVERN
 
One of the “waitresses” looked over and saw the rich looking man apparently just sitting patiently while the electrical woman stared blankly back. Wondering what was going on, she walked over with some water and tried to offer it to them. Before she could say a word however, she accidentally tripped and spilled the water over the woman. Suddenly the woman started sparking uncontrollably and eventually keeled over dead. Scared for her life, the “waitress” sprinted away and hid.
 
OOC: Retcon has been done. You may proceed.I have only posted the retcon because there are a few things I need to figure out for the other scenarios at this time.

[Primusa]

Before she could say a word however, she accidentally tripped and spilled the water over the woman. Suddenly the woman started sparking uncontrollably and eventually keeled over dead.

I was utterly shocked to see Alyra get killed by having the water spilled on her. After all, she had been having a drink just fine earlier when I arrived in the bar. If she could be killed by simply having water spilled on her, how did she manage to survive all these years if she couldn't be in contact with water? Did that mean she never showered, or even drank water? Either way, it seems as if she was just another dirty peasant. Who would have thought that she would die so soon? More importantly, I was now deprived of leads, and with the members of the bar now taking greatly increased interest in my activities, it seemed that now was the time to leave. I sighed; the outside world wasn't much more interesting than the Fairfax Estate. I looked at the inscription on the bottom of my wristwatch: "Principium, Blood Bath Tavern, Current Date". Was there some predetermined reason that I was supposed to be here tonight? Whatever it was, I had not observed it. I stood up from the table, and left the bar.

Back in the car, Helena asked me: "So how was your trip?" "Uneventful" I replied solemnly. She took a long pause, and the car went silent for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she spoke. "I must have told you this a hundred times, but you don't have to go back. You've earned millions of credits all on your own, and have everything one could ask for, why not settle down? Maybe not in an awful dump like this, but a nice and quiet town in the countryside, where you can live out the rest of your days in peace". "Preposterous" I snapped. "What I want is to inherit the noble Fairfax Estate from my father, and only then will I be fulfilled" I said. "Then I'll turn around and drive you back there right now" she said. "No! I won't rest until I discover the meaning behind this watch" I replied. "You can't have it both ways! Aren't you concerned that Delilah will make a power grab in your absence?" "I beat her once and I'll do it again" I shouted. "You were lucky to escape her alive! She is truly vicious; in fact, they all are. You don't have to struggle against them anymore, and I wish that you would realize that there are far more important things in life than inheriting the estate". "Inheritance is my only purpose in life" I stated. "No, it's not your purpose, but it's one that someone has tried to force upon you" she said.

Around 15 minutes after the argument, I finally got her to speak to me again. As per my instructions, she had in fact prepared the accommodations for us as planned. When I left the estate, I had liquidated all of my investments, except for one. I owned 30% of the shares of the Celestia Hotel Chain, and being such an important shareholder, I could essentially receive a free stay at any of their hotels throughout the country. The Celestia Hotel in Principium was one of the most luxurious in the world, and there were very few people who could afford to stay there. I had originally acquired the shares to garner favor with potential business partners by offering them stays there, making me seem much more important than I really was. I never thought those shares would be so useful. After making sure with the hotel managers that our stay would be off the record, and that nobody could find out I was staying there, I turned in for the night in my room, wondering what would come next.

OOC: Current Date refers to the date Samson arrived at the tavern as given in our fictional universe, in its own system of dating.

[Touch of Ruin]

BEACON FOR POOR PEOPLE
Grunting in surprise, Mr. Free smiled as he felt the effects of the gravity field pressing down on him. They actually know what they are doing, he thought. Struggling to move out of the field, he quickly switched the music to overload for an extra boost. After breaking free, he spun around and twirled his hammer. “Round 2 anyone?” He yelled as he charged at Qilong and smashed him into the ground.

UNKNOWN MILITARY BASE
Seras quickly spun and fired at two guards before they could pull the alarm. Her bullets hit one guard in the forehead and the other in the arm and neck. Landing on her back, she slid along the floor due to momentum for a few seconds. As her back hit the wall, she quickly reloaded and waited for more guards. After none came, she quickly moved to the room they had come out of. Entering it, she saw that it was one of the communication centres for the base. She walked over and began hacking the terminal. As she broke in, she started to rummage through the files and to identify if there was anything worth stealing. She hit a folder marked “Project Vasto” and quickly opened it. Reading through the files briefly, she chuckled grimly at the information. Among the various inhumane tests, she noticed things like “robotics integration” and “transmutation”. Pulling out a flash drive, she copied over the hard drive and moved out of the room. They had found what they were looking for. It was time to leave.

CELESTIA HOTEL
A tall man entered into the hotel clad entirely in black carrying a suitcase. Walking up to the receptionist, he smiled and said, “Would you please book me a room for the night?” Handing over the money, the receptionist gave him the key and the man walked into towards the elevators. Entering his room, he laid the suit case on the bed and quickly checked the room for bugs, both audio and video. After seeing that he was alone, he opened the suitcase. Inside was a series of electronic bugs of his own along with some knives and a small, black pistol. “Time to go to work,” He said.

OOC: The fight with Free can end whenever you guys want it to.

[Youmu Konpaku]

--POV: Zeelan--

I grunt in frustration as the gravity field is broken by Mr. Free using his unusual nightcore powers. To make things worse, Qilong just got smashed into the ground, removing the opportunity for him to attack. 

I grow tired of this. The time to finish this is now. Seeing as how Qilong is currently incapacitated, I'll have to work with Veryon to do this, as difficult as it may be to do so with his psychopathic nature. I decide that the best course of action would be to get rid of that boombox of his, and if possible, leave him vulnerable to an attack from either Veryon or Qilong (assuming he can recover quickly enough). Time to use the power I had been charging up. 

Igniting myself once more, I rocket off towards Mr. Free at blistering speeds. As soon as I am within range, I drive a flaming fist through the mysterious power source of his. Finally, using the last bit of my power I had charged, I create a powerful thermal beneath Mr. Free, which should knock him up into the air, or at the very least, knock him off balance. I signal for Veryon and Qilong to move in.

Let the games begin.

--POV: Amelia--

I keep running down the hall, and to my delight, there is a phalanx of several armed guards lined up among the halls, guns pointed at me, yet looking at me in terror. 

"Hey guys, how's the job going?" I ask as I casually walk forward. In response, they all scream and immediately begin to open fire on me. And well, I know how this song and dance is going to turn out.

Immediately, I use my illusion powers to make myself invisible as I set up a decoy in my previous location. Being careful not to get hit, I manage to make my way behind the guards as the decoy gets gunned down. As they close in to examine it, I make myself visible again as I make various copies of myself to stand beside me.

"Oh, boys!" I call out to grab their attention, to which they turn to myself and my clones in horror.

"Light 'em up, girls." All of my clones immediately open fire on the guards, tearing them to shreds, and leaving one guard remaining as I dispel the clones.

I slowly advance to the sole survivor as he backs up to the corner in fear. Whimpering, he pulls out his pistol and proceeds to shoot himself in the head. 

Aww, no fun.

[Touch of Ruin]

...well played

[Youmu Konpaku]

OOC: This post is only backstory for Amelia. Enjoy!
 
--POV: Amelia (9 years before current events)--
 
Dark. 
 
Cold.
 
It's nighttime. And I'm in the alleys... again. I don't like it here. I’m always in the corner, wrapped in a cloak I stole.
 
I don’t know where my mom and dad are, who they are, or if they’re still alive. I used to be in an orphanage before bad people showed up and blew it up… I survived and ran, with only the necklace I had as my only belonging. Everyone else didn't make it…
 
This is the only place left for me to stay… and I don’t like it here. I’m hungry, and cold. I should just try to sleep…
 
I close my eyes, but I quickly wake up again because now there’s people talking. There are tall men standing around a younger girl.  She had blue hair and wore a black shirt and pants, and didn’t seem too happy to see the other men.
 
“Hey, you,” one of them says to her. “What do you think you’re doing here?”
 
“I’m just passing by,” she tells them.
 
“This ain’t a place for you. This is our territory. Now, hand over all of your credits, and maybe we’ll let you go free.”
 
The man sounded scary. Is he going to hurt her…?
 
One of the others noticed me. “Hey, kid. Beat it, or we’ll have to deal with you, too.”
 
I would run, but I was too scared to move. After that, the girl noticed me as well. “Go! It’s not safe here!”
 
My feet still don’t move.
 
“If that’s the way you want to play it, so be it…” One of the people started to come closer to me, and I was against the corner. I can’t get out…
 
Why? Why do bad people like him exist? It’s people like him that make the world an awful place. It’s people like him that destroyed the orphanage… why? I wish they would all just die… JUST DIE FOR ME!
 
I felt a strange sensation through my body as I finished my thoughts, and the strange man stopped moving. He looks scared.
 
“Boss? What are you doing?” One of the other men asked him. Then, the boss got on his knees, shaking.
 
“It’s coming…” he said. “IT’S COMING FOR ME!” The man claws at his throat, spraying blood everywhere, until he falls down and lies still.
 
The girl looks at me, surprised. I think I could hear her say, “So she's got powers too...”
 
One of the other men looks angry now and yells at me, “What did you do to him?!” He pulls out a knife and runs at me…
 
Until a sharp spear of ice bursts through his chest, instantly killing him. It was from the girl…
 
The other men watched in fear as the strange girl froze one of their own completely, and proceeded to shatter the body with her fist. She turned to the others, pointing an ice spear in their direction. “Run.”
 
The men listen to her, and run away. That was the last thing I remember as the girl comes running to me, and my sight grows darker…
 
 

[Primusa]

Samson Fairfax: Age 10 (Principium: Altohall Orphanage)

"Samson, what are you reading now?" my friend asks me. I was sitting under the shade of a tree outside the orphanage, the skies were clear and bright; hope seemed to be at hand. "An Introduction to the Arcane Arts" I replied with a grin. "Whoa! Where could you possibly have gotten such an expensive book?" He seemed totally flabbergasted that I had such an expensive book, as the ones the orphanage bought were all second-hand donations, or so old that they passed down through many generations of children. "I've been saving up for this book for three years now, slowly accumulating money through odd jobs I take outside these walls" I stated. "Why would you possibly need such a book? All the jobs the orphanage helps us get after we leave don't require any magic". I shifted the topic in a different direction to make my point, and asked: "Have you ever thought about why almost no jobs in the workforce require magic?" "Isn't it because magic is too difficult for everyone to learn?" He asked. "No, it's not difficult at all, reading this book has shown me the truth. I'm sure that anybody who picked up this book could learn it, but it's far too expensive for any commoner to buy". "Then what possible reason could there be, Samson?" I paused and hesitated slightly before I said: "The Aristocracy wants to keep us illiterate and in poverty". "That's crazy!" He shouted. "I thought so too, but when I looked deeper, almost all jobs involving manual labor are created by the same groups of wealthy families. The people of this world are suffering, being worked ragged and paid almost nothing. They're too tired to think of anything but work, or to realize what's going on. They can't quit their jobs because homelessness is the alternative, and there are dozens of people who would jump at the chance to take their place. If the general populace all learned magic: their jobs would become easier, and they would have time to think. Once this happens, everyone would realize they were being exploited by their employers, and the power would be returned the people, there would be a revolution!" He looked down, as if contemplating the gravity of what I just said. "If that's true, what could us orphan children possibly do about it" he said solemnly. I took a more determined expression, and stated my intentions. "I don't intend to let the Aristocracy trample on me anymore. There's this school nearby, called the Beacon for Poor People. I remember that they did a presentation at our orphanage about what they hope to accomplish. They use their knowledge of magic and other talents to help those most in need of it. I intend to join this school, and use magical talents to help people like us". He was amazed by my intentions, and I hadn't realized it; but everybody had gathered near the tree to listen to me with marvelous wonder. Suddenly, somebody in the group spoke up: "I want to help everyone too, but I don't have enough money to buy a book of my own" he said sadly. "I do as well" was said by another. That statement was repeated by the other eleven children standing with me. I was overtaken with the happiness that all of my friends shared my dreams, and said: "That's okay, everyone can use my book; and together, we'll save the world!". "But our group will need a name" somebody said. I spoke now with elation: "I agree, I think that we should be called: The Orphan's Crusade". This was met with unanimous cheering among the group. Everybody stood in a circle, and the twelve of us put one hand in the center, before cheering: "To saving the world!" as everybody jumped in the air.

OOC: This post is entirely backstory, I will return to the main plot very soon.

[Oneal812]

It seems like a boom box can affect and alter the force of gravity. Ill allow it. It also seems like fire can affect the boom box and that the ground can affect Qilong's face. I'm not sure what Qilong did to make Mr. Free focus him down like this. But hey, at least it's not me. Now as amusing as it is watching Qilong literally and metaphorically eat the dust I should probably do something about the now airborn Mr. Free. Well, as the old saying goes, "What goes up must stay in a state where certain laws of physics do not apply so that they are suspended allowing for free movement about the air."  Creating another field around Mr. Free at the top of his launch arc I catch him in a field of EXTREMELY low gravity. Now he is falling very very very very slowly... and with style. I'm still just going to leave the fighting to the other two. He may be lacking his music, but as expertly demonstrated by my new comrade, doesn't matter that much.

[Contemplator]

OOC: and the one who hasn't posted is.......(drum roll)..... ME! Man that's just sad. Sorry guys I tried earlier I really did, it'll be up tomorrow, promise.

[Primusa]

I awoke that morning from a very unsettling dream; one chronicling a portion of my life that I was on the verge of forgetting. I was sure that the events depicted happened in that way, or at least in a very similar manner. However, the children from that dream were faceless, nameless creatures that I had long forgotten. They were just figments of personality that served to fill in the gaps in my memory. I think that's because their names and faces don't matter, only the lessons I learned from that time have endured. Back then, I envisaged myself a hero, fighting against a nameless evil that permeated the world. Such a fantasy could only be created in the minds of children; and eventually you will have to grow out of it. Since then I've learned that ideas such as good and evil are only abstract concepts created by humans to describe certain behaviors exhibited by others. In nature, the only universal factor preeminent throughout the entire global ecosystem is that the strong devour the weak. Humans are for the most part above such barbarism, but the same principle still applies throughout our society. I've experienced both sides of the spectrum in society, being the devoured, and the devourer. Of course, in my judgement, it's far better to be the devourer. I ended up becoming an aristocrat, a class of people that I absolutely despised at that time for what I viewed as "robbing" the common man. Was I a hypocrite the entire time; only hating the aristocrats because I craved their possessions, what power they wielded? Was I; an extremely poor orphan boy at the time, wrong for wanting the now simple conveniences of a meal whenever I pleased, and a warm bath? I stopped asking such questions a long time ago. The truth is that I'm terrified of losing everything I have worked so hard; and sacrificed so much to obtain in the last 12 years at the Fairfax Estate. I can't imagine a life of being poor again, no; I don't think that I would ever be able to go back to it again now that I've tasted the forbidden fruit. Getting up from my luxurious bed, I gaze into the mirror as I put on my clothes. In it, I see a man with short blonde hair, gray eyes, dead white skin, and with a hardened face implying experience and suffering far beyond his years. Confidently, I walk out into the hallway; ready to face the world ahead.

OOC: More character development, and I managed to take an entire paragraph to walk into a hallway. Well then Touch of Ruin; Are you ready to show your hand yet? I'm quite interested to see what you have in store.

[Contemplator]

As Mr.Free flew past me, then suddenly changed his mind and slammed into the ground, I changed my mind: I liked my team mates, at least a little, especially  the really crazy one, he amused me, I like amusing people. And not only  we’re they proving to be quite interesting but they weren’t horrible in a fight either, though I’d have to watch out for sudden shifts in gravity, it seemed we we’re still pretty self-oriented, but nothing but practice could help that.

And then suddenly there was the ground, right in front of me, it hurt.


Now normally I might just lie there, pretend to be out of the fight until I felt a little more like I enjoyed breathing, but this was enough! I’d been slammed into a ground, catapulted into the wall, and hit twice by a giant pillow hammer! That’s not how I played my fights. This was it! I used my continuing momentum and turned my head, getting a glance of Mr.Free before once again hitting the ground, but passing through it this time.

Once I was underneath again I positioned myself blindly near to where I saw Mr.Free moving to last. Then jumping up I emerged from the ground, pulling out a sword and aiming it at his underbelly. Surprisingly however, I jumped a lot higher than I was expecting, going a lot faster too, odd I knew I couldn`t jump this high up. Seconds later however I realized that Mr.free was a lot higher up than I expected too, and coming closer really quickly. I made a slash but my arm moved up a lot easier than I expected and instead of his exposed stomach ended up going towards his shoulder.







OOC: Alright; I`m satisfied, I think I`ve worked out how this goes, let`s wrap this up and help Prisuma with his one man battle against the plot.

[Youmu Konpaku]

OOC: Once again, this post is only backstory for Amelia.
 

--POV: Amelia (9 years before current events)--


“…up… Wake up… Wake up!” A voice calls to me as my eyes open. The worried face of the girl with the ice powers is the first thing I see. “You’re awake… thank goodness.”
 
“…Who are you?” I ask her. She is about to answer before being cut off by a boy who looks around her age, in a similar outfit as her. 
 
“Hey Snowflake, what’s the hold-up?” He says to her, to which she growls.
 
“I told you, don’t call me Snowflake! I have a name, you know. I was held up by some thugs… and this girl here almost got caught by them and passed out,” she points to me. Judging from the fact that their leader mysteriously killed himself as he got close to her, she may have powers and isn’t used to them.” I… have powers? The boy looked confused as well.
 
“A girl as young as her?” He took a look in my direction. “Well… I guess it’s not impossible. Say, we should be getting you back home. Where do you live?” He asks me.
 
“I don’t have a home… My orphanage blew up.” The two look shocked, and quickly exchange a glance.
 
“…We should take her to headquarters,” the girl concludes. “It’s the only place she’ll be safe for now. We already have the intel, anyways.”
 
“Maybe you’re right. Now with this, we can get back at the guys who blew up that orphanage.” They’re going to attack the men who destroyed the orphanage... the ones who killed my friends… they have this coming to them. And I can’t stand around, either.
 
Before I knew it, I was speaking up. “I want to help too. I know you think I’m too young. But I know my powers, and I’ll use them to make the people responsible pay, with or without your help.” The two were shocked at what I had just said. I don’t see why I can’t help. I have powers now, and I will use them to claim my revenge. I made that man go insane… I’ll bring them all to their knees. They must pay.
 
Surprisingly, the girl seemed interested that I wanted to help. “Hmm…”
 
On the other hand, the boy was astounded. “You’re not seriously considering it, are you?” He asks the girl.
 
“I think the boss will like her… she stands for the same reasons our group was formed in the first place, you know,” she comments. “Plus… I think she’s got real potential.”
 
The boy looked uneasy. “I’m not sure this will work… you know we’re only trainees ourselves, right…?” He sighed. “But do what you want,” he surrenders. The girl gave him a smile.
 
“Glad you see it my way.” She turns to me. “Can you get up?”
 
My dizziness and fatigue tell me “no”, and I tell her so.
 
“No problem.” The girl gives me a friendly smile as she lifts me up, carrying me over her shoulder. “My name’s Bianca,” she introduces herself. “What’s your name?”
 
“Amelia,” I reply as my voice begins to sound more and more tired.
 
“Nice to meet you, Amelia.” She then turns to the boy, “Hey killjoy, why don’t you introduce yourself?”
 
“Hey, don’t just label me like that!” He complained.
 
“Aw, muffin,” she replied with dripping sarcasm. “Just introduce yourself.”
 
These two are an interesting pair. They never give up a chance to tease and poke fun at each other. It makes an entertaining walk to headquarters.
 
The boy sighed and grumbled in defeat, cursing the girl under his breath before turning to me with a smile. “My name’s Zeelan. Nice to meet you.”

OOC: For reference, both Zeelan and Bianca are 13, and Amelia is 5.

[Touch of Ruin]

BEACON FOR POOR PEOPLE
Mr. Free smiled as he realized they had won. Without thinking, he quickly spun his arm to block Qilong’s sword and caught him in a one arm bear hug to keep him from floating away. He then threw down his hammer and laughed out loud. “Well boys, you’ve done it. Now let me down will you?” After Veryon released the field, Mr. Free hit the ground and dropped Qilong. Looking around for his boom box, he saw that it was in pieces on the floor and snapped his fingers. Before their eyes it reconstructed itself. Smiling, he walked away with the boys following behind them. Walking up to a car by the gate, he turned back to face them.
“This is it boys. I will be coming with you to help you out. Your first contract is as a group of mercenaries hired to protect a low level VIP. You finally have completed training. Now let’s go see how well it does you.

And with that, Mr. Free hopped into the driver seat while the rest clambered in. He switched the stereo on and sped off blasting Nightstep as they went.

CELESTIA HOTEL
------------------------Early morning before Samson awakens-------------------------------
A tall man clad entirely in black smiled as he placed the last bug in the hall. Opening his mind’s eye, he was able to connect to all of them thanks to the chip in his brain. With said chip he had the power to hack nearly any type of robotics and bend them to his will. Checking that they were all working, he walked towards the elevator. Speaking softly, as if to himself, he said “the traps are set. Now let’s make sure someone springs them.”
------------------5 Minutes later after he awakes-------------------------
A tall man clad entirely in black calmly walks down a hallway in the VIP section of the hotel. Checking the doors, he smiles and stops in front of the door marked “143” and quickly breaks the lock. Slipping into the room, he pulls out a pistol and walks to the bed. Looking down at the occupant, he smiled as he looked at the sleeping figures of Principium’s mayor and his mistress. Aiming the pistol, two shots quickly rang out and the figure left the room. At the same time, he called the police and left an anonymous tip that the Mayor had just been murdered. Walking down the hall and smiling, he looked out the window and waited for Swat to show up.


OOC: Sorry for the slight time fracturing. Also, Primusa you aren’t allowed to leave.

[Contemplator]

Grumbling I sit in the car rubbing my sore neck, this is not how I like my fights to go, ah well what can you do, it is Mr.Free. At least the chairs are comfortable, as I sit I think of all I learned today and decide to add a note to the list; no matter where you go, what you do, or what your made out of, Mr.Free is always there to snap and destroy all the work you put into destroying something, then finish off by hurting you.... no wait... not you... just me.

[Youmu Konpaku]

--POV: Zeelan--
 
The fight is over, at last. It feels like I've been battling Mr. Free for months. Either way, it looks like we'll be taking an actual contract today, which is nice. Enough with the training, now I can go out there and really put my powers to use.
 
Mr. Free leads us into a car, where I take my seat next to a sour Qilong. Understandably so, at that. Mr. Free gave him quite the beating today. However, he's taken it... relatively well.
 
Then there's the peculiar Veryon, who is seated beside me as well. As crazy as he is, he does pretty well in a fight, and his powers are of great use.
 
Now it would seem that this team will go out to complete a real contract. Judging from the fight with Mr. Free... maybe this won't turn out horribly.
 
OOC: Finally done the training fight, awesome! Now with the "no killing" restriction removed, I can get more creative with Zeelan's powers...
 
--POV: Amelia--


I still can’t help but to be disappointed over that last guy who shot himself. I could’ve had some fun with him, but nope, he decides to pussy out. Is there anything here that could maybe cheer me up…?

Looking over the corpses of the soldiers, I see that one of them has a flashbang. Smiling, I reach over to pick it up. I could definitely have some fun with this.

Speaking of fun, most of the people that I get sent out to do missions with don’t exactly like my idea of “fun”. There was that one time when I was told to stop making the enemies bash their own skulls in… Oh, and there was that time I made this one guy go on a rampage and killing people with a pen… good times. Well, that’s what I thought, at least.

Some people call me a sadist. However, I believe that there is a difference between what they call sadism, and my own actions.

I have some preferences to which contracts I take, the highest of which being the ones which let me go up against those who are truly evil. Ever since the incident at the orphanage, as a young girl, I would wonder about the existence of evil people. Why they exist. Why they do what they do. I was never really able to find a satisfactory answer. But either way, answer or no answer, there was one thing that I knew for sure. Those heartless bastards must pay.

They had committed their crimes, and the damage is done. And what they have done cannot be taken back. It is because of this that I make the last of their lives a living hell. I will ensure that they will suffer as much, and beyond the pain that they have caused others due to their actions. So they can go ahead and call me inhumane, sadist, or whatever else they can come up with. In the end, I am merely righting what is wrong.

And I have some wonderful people to thank for helping me see this. It was nine years ago that they had shown me to my true calling. It seems like a long time, but it feels so close. There, I had met Bianca and Zeelan, who in turn brought me into the world of mercenaries. And for that, I am truly grateful. They helped me discover my power…

“Your powers are unlike anything I’ve seen,” Bianca’s words echo in my mind. “You can drive people to insanity, as you did with your first encounter when we met. It appears you can also create illusions as well.”

“The illusions you create are not actually real, of course,” Zeelan chimes in with Bianca, in my reverie. “However, they can be very real to those who believe in them, and let the illusion fool them. In this case… illusions can be rather destructive.”

So I learned what I could truly accomplish that day. So I honed my powers… my gunplay… my stabbing. All to ensure that the next villains I meet will meet a truly gruesome death. Speaking of which…

“Get on your knees!” A voice shouts out, as I am surrounded by squads of soldiers on both sides of the hallway, guns at the ready. Don’t they ever learn? At least this will let me try some new things. You see, my weapons react to my powers in a rather… unique way.

Activating my powers, I immediately turn invisible, throwing the soldiers’ minds into chaos. Best part about this is that I don’t even have to move. Oh, the poor bastards. Fun begins in three, two, one…

I come into sight once more, this time, one of my pistols pointed to my left, the other to my right. Grinning, I call out “Hey, I haven’t gone anywhere!” In response, my enemies turn to me, the terror clearly written in their faces. I have no sympathy for them. They know what they’re doing. They know what they signed up for. The only person I feel sorry for right now is the guy who gets to clean this mess up.

As I fire my shots, I fragment the bullets into several pieces with my powers, which now begin to glow a pale red. The fragments curve around and find their way into their appropriate targets. Their faces.

As soon as the impact arrives, a chorus of bloody screams fills the halls. Terrified, the others are frozen in fear, watching as the victims writhe in pain before finally dying.

“Are you guys going to do something, or just stand there?!” I call out, as the same power which fragmented my bullets lengthens my knives by several feet. As long as longswords, as light as knives. Highly efficient? Very much so.

With the same fury I carried all these years, with the same hatred of evil, I leap towards one of them as I let out a scream of fury. In one swift motion, with one sword, his torso is separated from his body. With the other, a nearby soldier is decapitated. As I land, all eyes turn to me.

With a brief smile, I pull out my pistols one more, shooting the remaining two enemies next to me in the head. Once more with my powers, I build up power within my bullets before letting out the shot. The bullets take form of pale red bolts, hitting two more enemies in the stomach, and pinning them to the far back wall. The few remaining enemies decide to open fire on me, to which I turn invisible once more, rolling out of the line of fire.

Before they know it, I am visible once more, jumping at them with my knives, back to their normal form. With a quick series of slashes to their throats, I leave all but one standing.

…Oh! That’s right, I picked up a flashbang earlier… I think this is its proper time to shine.

With full force, I drive my knife into the soldier’s stomach and tear at it, creating a large gash. As he screams in agony, I reach out for the flashbang, pull the pin, and drive it into the gash as I kick him away from me. I turn around just before the detonation.

Looking around, I see that all of my enemies have been slain successfully. I can see one hell of a mess as well. I’d better run over to Seras, I can’t keep her waiting.

On my way back, there are no further encounters with the security force. Eventually, I run into Seras, who seems to have found something. I give her a friendly smile.

“Sorry it took so long. Don’t mind the mess back there.”

OOC: It appears I have written a book. xD

[Primusa]

As I exit my room, I am greeted with the sound of two gunshots ringing out down the hall. I immediately begin to speculate as to why the gunshots rang out. Could they be after me, or someone else? All thoughts are brought to a halt when I see a man looking out the window down the hall, very close to the initial location of the gunshots, and I approach him cautiously, intending to question him.

[Touch of Ruin]

CELESTIA HOTEL

A tall black man clad entirely in black turned and smiled as he saw a young man moving towards him. 

“I presume you’re Samson Fairfax?”

“Yes I am. And who are you?”

The man chuckled. “I am known by many names. But for now you can call me the one who’s going to get you out of here alive. Oh and just something to remember, if you try to kill me, even with that little time trick you have, you will be dead in less than five seconds afterwards. Now hop to it mate.” With that the man walked quickly down the hall not waiting to see if he would follow.


IN THE CAR

Mr. Free looked around and saw the SWAT vans speeding down the road. Laughing he said,

“Well boys, change of plans. We are gonna follow the SWAT team. Why? Because I feel like it. Do you have any objections? I don’t care. Now let’s GO!”

Suddenly he floored the pedal and didn’t slow down till they reached the hotel. Jumping out, he ran up to the police chief.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Looking confused, the chief took a step back before replying.

“The mayor has been murdered. We are here to arrest the culprit. Care to help us?”

“HELL YEAH LETS GO!” Mr. Free yelled before running over and dragged the recruits out of the car. 

“C’mon boys were going on an adventure.”

He then grabbed them all and carried to the hotel entrance, put them down, and walked inside.

UNKNOWN MILITARY BASE
Seras looked at Amelia covered in blood and cringed inwardly at the statement. This girl was something else. Checking behind them she said

“We got what we came for now let’s get out of here. Oh and by the way I saw the whole thing on the security cameras. Holy shit girl that was a mess alright. Every last guard in the building is dead as well so we can just stroll on out of here. So much for little trace as possible… Now let’s go.”

Seras turned and ran down the hall towards the exit without turning her head knowing that Amelia would be right behind her.



OOC: Primusa you can go with the man if you want but you don’t have to. I give you the choice. Just don’t try to shoot him. That will end badly for you. Also I realize that I don't have a song to go with Mr. Free but when I was writing the rest and doing touch ups I was listening to this the whole time. Cheers

[Contemplator]

OOC: Tech control, no problem there, we've got a time controlling watch and a gravity device on our side... wait... oh that's not good.

Man if only we had someone to control electricity or something... wait no they died in a water accident.


I got out of the car, and immediately turned intangible, I'm sick and tired of getting hit.

Then I followed Mr.Free into the random building stretching my legs, it felt as if I'd been in that car for a week.

Upon entering I took a good look at my surroundings.

[Youmu Konpaku]

--POV: Zeelan—

Well then. It appears that Mr. Free is going to ignore our original objective and get involved with whatever the SWAT team is doing now. And it would appear that we are going to track down the one who just murdered the mayor. Because you know, screw that other thing we were supposed to do.


We arrive at the hotel entrance, where there are several squads on standby. It would also seem that we don’t really have a plan in particular. And we don’t know what we’re dealing with. Fantastic.


Whoever it is we’re looking for, I hope they provide a challenge. I move into the building, on the lookout for anyone who looks suspicious.



OOC: I’m guessing this hotel is going to be destroyed after we’re done here. Also, I'll be leaving Amelia's post blank for this turn, as there isn't much to post for her right now.

[Primusa]

I carefully take his offer into consideration, it is quite clear that he has knowledge of my Temporal Wristwatch, and quite possibly some way of countering its effects. However suspicious his offer is, accepting it seems like the better option for the time being: He may be able to shed some light on what the watch means. That being said, I decide to follow him.

[Touch of Ruin]

OOC: There is a new rule in place. Unless you have a legitimate reason for not posting within a two week time frame, then I will post for you if your post is needed. If you do not intend to post during a posting period, then please message me or tell me in person. If you have a legitimate reason to not be able to post within a two week time frame then tell me. If you miss the post time 3 times in a row without any legitimate reason then I will speak to you about it.

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